


inaugural seminar

by mardia



Category: Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Genre: Gen, Humor, Set Before Lies Sleeping, Spoilers for Lies Sleeping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 08:52:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17280959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mardia/pseuds/mardia
Summary: Miriam Stephanopoulos makes a point of attending the first vestigia-awareness seminar held by the Folly. (She makes an even bigger point by dragging Alexander Seawoll along with her.)





	inaugural seminar

**Author's Note:**

> So when I saw the line from Lies Sleeping about Peter and Nightingale now offering vestigia-awareness courses to the Met, I immediately started shrieking in delight and feverishly speculating on tumblr about who would've attended, and then insidious-intent on tumblr said, "Miriam taking furious notes on everything Nightingale says, while Seawoll silently weeps at the weird bollocks being taught," and whoops, I wrote a thing.

“Absolutely not,” Alex says, with the fierce scowl he uses when he wants to end a discussion before it’s even started.

Thankfully, after years of working with him, Miriam’s developed an immunity to all of Alexander Seawoll’s scowls and glares. “It’ll set a good example.” Her mouth twitches as she adds, dryly, “And given that you’ve been whinging for years now–”

Alex bristles, just as she knew he would. “I have never whinged in my life–”

“Whinging,” Miriam continues relentlessly, “About Nightingale never properly integrating into the Met, and now Grant’s finally got him to do it, and you’re not even going to try to encourage this state of affairs?”

“Fuck’s sake,” Alex says, drumming his fingers on the desk. “I helped them get the idea of these seminars past the Commissioner, didn’t I?”

Miriam smiles. “And now you can make an even bigger show of your support by attending the first seminar with me.”

Alex’s eyes narrow, and he points an accusing finger directly at her face. “You just want to hear more about the bloody unicorns!”

Truthfully, if Miriam wanted to hear more about the unicorns in Herefordshire, all she’d have to do is buy Peter a pint at the nearest pub and ask. And she does genuinely think it’ll be a good idea for Alex to attend and show his support, it might encourage a few reluctant officers to risk the grumbling of their superiors and come in as well.

But also Miriam’s always enjoyed winding Alex up, so she shrugs a little and says, “Of course I am. Thinking of getting one to guard the chickens while me and her indoors are out on holiday.”

The ensuing fit that Alex throws is as loud and dramatic as anything Miriam has ever seen. But as Miriam’s wife says, Alex always has been rather theatrical.

*

As the last stragglers get in right as the seminar’s about to start, Peter and Nightingale graciously smiling and nodding hellos as they point out the few empty desks still available, Alex leans in and huffs irritatedly, keeping his voice low, “Unbelievable. You just had to stick us in the first bloody row?”

“Shh, it’s starting,” Miriam says, opening her notebook to an empty page and sitting back in her seat as Peter smiles at the packed room and begins to talk. She’d made sure that she and Alex were among the first to arrive, which meant she’d had a first row seat to Peter’s poorly contained surprise as the room continued to fill up with attendees, far beyond the (already shockingly long) list of officers who had signed up for the Met’s inaugural Vestigia Awareness Seminar.

She thinks of rubbing it in later with Alex when they meet up with Pam later this evening for dinner, but decides not to. He’s already going through enough trials today, rubbing it in might just be pushing it. Especially given the way Nightingale’s mouth keeps twitching with amusement whenever he looks over at them.

(She’s unsurprised to see that it’s Peter leading the seminar while Nightingale sits at the desk and observes, but she is rather curious to find out what’s in those three boxes at the desk up front. Christ, but she hopes it’s not vampires.)

And then Peter asks Nightingale to get the lights, and the room dims to near-total darkness, and then Peter says, so quietly that even Miriam has to strain to hear him, “Lux,” and the room fills up with dozens of floating werelights–Miriam had remembered the name of them all while pretending not to–bathing them all in a soft, unearthly glow.

A hush falls over the room, before excited murmuring breaks out among the attendees, Miriam catches sight of a sergeant from Fraud guiltily lifting up a finger and trying to poke at one, her face lighting up with delight when she realizes she can touch it.

“Show off,” Alex mutters under his breath.

“Hush,” Miriam says, and reaches out to catch one in her hand, before it disappears.

*

By the end of the seminar, Miriam’s got a notebook full of scribbled writings that she’ll have to work to decipher later (her handwriting does go to pieces when she gets worked up about something) and Alex has got a vein throbbing in his temple, but he’s managed not to actually go off and have a stroke or get in a shouting match with Nightingale, so Miriam’s calling it a win.

Miriam’s still rubbing her fingertips together from where she’d run along the edge of that magical mask that Peter had brought back from the Quiet People (she thinks she can still feel the traces of that vestigia on her hand, and doesn’t think it’s just her imagination) as she gathers up her things with one hand, and makes her way past the crowd circling around Peter to where Nightingale is still in his seat, smiling quietly with pride as he watches Peter patiently answer the dozens of questions people are flinging at his head now that the seminar’s come to an end.

“Hang on, there are _vampires?”_

“Yeah, but they’re not like how you think of them.”

“But _vampires?”_

“What about werewolves?” another person asks, and through the crowd, Miriam sees Peter shrug, saying, “Inconclusive.”

Nightingale turns his attention to Miriam and Alex as they approach, smiling up at them. “Hello Miriam, Alexander.”

“Thomas,” Alex says, gruffly.

“Did you enjoy the seminar?” Nightingale asks, innocently enough, it’s only the hint of a gleam in his eyes that gives him away.

Alex snorts, and Miriam very casually treads on his foot as she says, “We did, actually. Quite informative.” She looks over her shoulder and says, “I’d go over and tell Peter so, but he’s rather busy at the moment, you’ll have to pass it along.”

“I will,” Nightingale promises, inclining his head. “Thank you both for coming, I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“The only thing missing was a few more shows of magic from you,” Miriam says, ignoring Alex’s low grumble of discontent. “You’ll have to run another one of these seminars again.”

“Indeed we will,” Nightingale says, smiling faintly. “There’s already a waiting list.”

“Oh sweet Christ preserve us,” Alex mutters aloud, but Miriam doesn’t bother treading on his foot again. He’s had a very trying day after all, _some_ allowances have to be made.


End file.
